700 VTR .308 Win review

[bowhunthard88]

Here is a link to my Rem 700 VTR review, the caliber is .308 win.
This review will be periodically updated to reflect recent loads.

Enjoy.

lightbulb http://varmintxt.webs.com/rem700vtr.htm

 

[bowhunthard88]

I just posted pics of my groups @ 100 yds. Shot on right is not included in group, and was before the scope adjustment was made.

 

[Coyboy]

Jump the powder up on them loads, 2200-2300 is far from max pressure. I would think you should be from 2500-2600fps range with the 178, and 2600-2700 for the 168. I am very interested in the results when you get a load up there.

 

[bowhunthard88]

Max pressure is supposed to be about 2500fps with the 178gr AMAX, but will have to chronograph them in warm weather. I have been shooting in <25 F temps. Curious about accuracy results myself when I pep them up.

Thanks.

 

[bowhunthard88]

I found my sweet spot @ 2400 fps (41 grs. Varget). With 2450 fps and above, group sizes opened up to about 1".

3-shot group (2400 fps) @ 100 yds: .089"
(had to measure holes in backing, shoot-n-c's aren't good for precision measurement)​

 

[NONYA]

I topped mine with a LRS1 and it shoots VERY well,168gr amax/tsx over 52 gr of IMR 4350,took a bunch of game with it this season.

 

[bowhunthard88]

Great job! What did you paint it with?

 

[NONYA]

Auto sealer in an airbrush,its really tough stuff.gun)

 

[pricedo]

I have a Remington Model 700 VTR in .308 Win that I got cheap from someone who fell out of love with it at the range.
I'm going to do radical surgery (a" muzzlebrakeotomy") on it and chop the muzzle brake & recess the newly machined crown 1/4", install a Timney trigger & dremel off the contact points & pillar bed the action in the original stock & free float the barrel & see what I come up with after the saw & dremel dust clears.
When I top it off with a Bushnell Elite 4200 2.5-10x40 I might wind up with a light, accurate, quick pointing deer rifle.

 

[bowhunthard88]

I have a Remington Model 700 VTR in .308 Win that I got cheap from someone who fell out of love with it at the range.
I'm going to do radical surgery (a" muzzlebrakeotomy") on it and chop the muzzle brake & recess the newly machined crown 1/4", install a Timney trigger & dremel off the contact points & pillar bed the action in the original stock & free float the barrel & see what I come up with after the saw & dremel dust clears.
When I top it off with a Bushnell Elite 4200 2.5-10x40 I might wind up with a light, accurate, quick pointing deer rifle.

Not sure if you read my review (I'm the one who started the thread lol), I was going to do like you want to do to the stock. The plastic stock was so warped it wouldn't have worked unless I cut almost all of one side of the barrel channel off.

"I decided to try to free-float the barrel tonight. I took my Dremel tool and smoothed out the pressure point in the front of the stock that the barrel rests on. It looked perfect, until I re-installed the barrel and action into the stock. The stock must have been warped and it was applying major pressure on the left side of the barrel, because when I re-installed the "free-floated" stock, the stock contacts the whole left side of the barrel. So much for a free-floated barrel..."

I bought a Bell and Carlson stock. Here's a pic now lol.

 

[pricedo]

Not sure if you read my review (I'm the one who started the thread lol), I was going to do like you want to do to the stock. The plastic stock was so warped it wouldn't have worked unless I cut almost all of one side of the barrel channel off.

"I decided to try to free-float the barrel tonight. I took my Dremel tool and smoothed out the pressure point in the front of the stock that the barrel rests on. It looked perfect, until I re-installed the barrel and action into the stock. The stock must have been warped and it was applying major pressure on the left side of the barrel, because when I re-installed the "free-floated" stock, the stock contacts the whole left side of the barrel. So much for a free-floated barrel..."

I bought a Bell and Carlson stock. Here's a pic now lol.

Congrats, you did a beautiful job on that gun.
The factory stock on my gun looks OK.
If I bought a Bell & Carlson I'd be getting hit with divorce papers the next day.
I'm going to have to work with what I got.

 

[bowhunthard88]

Congrats, you did a beautiful job on that gun.
The factory stock on my gun looks OK.
If I bought a Bell & Carlson I'd be getting hit with divorce papers the next day.
I'm going to have to work with what I got.

Thanks, it took me a while lol. The stock only cost me $125, I got it second-hand never used. I also have a Timney 1.5-4 lb. trigger in it; and I replaced the firing pin, bolt shroud, and cocking piece. I still want to get the Wyatt's DBM and get the stock DuraCoated OD. With my current handloads, I got a .547" group @ 350 yds (avg. a hair less than 1" for most groups). (I haven't updated my site in a while either, guess I should do that one of these days).

If you do dremel the stock and it looks like it won't be free floated, you could always shim it. You couldn't glass the shim though, cause it might lock the barrel in due to the triangular barrel shape.

Good luck with the project, maybe you'll be lucky (unlike me lol, although my luck usually runs that way).

 

[trebark]

I have a Remington Model 700 VTR in .308 Win that I got cheap from someone who fell out of love with it at the range.
I'm going to do radical surgery (a" muzzlebrakeotomy") on it and chop the muzzle brake & recess the newly machined crown 1/4", install a Timney trigger & dremel off the contact points & pillar bed the action in the original stock & free float the barrel & see what I come up with after the saw & dremel dust clears.
When I top it off with a Bushnell Elite 4200 2.5-10x40 I might wind up with a light, accurate, quick pointing deer rifle.

Definitely, do not waste your money doing any upgrades to the factory stock. If you just take it off the gun you can probably get about $40 for it in the classified section.

You're better off going the way that bowhunthard did and replace the stock with a B&C, HS etc.

Why cut the brake off? The barrel is already pretty short and the rifle has a reputation for being a tack-driver anyway.

 

[pricedo]

Definitely, do not waste your money doing any upgrades to the factory stock. If you just take it off the gun you can probably get about $40 for it in the classified section.

You're better off going the way that bowhunthard did and replace the stock with a B&C, HS etc.

Why cut the brake off? The barrel is already pretty short and the rifle has a reputation for being a tack-driver anyway.

I don't know if the 3 vented apparition on the end of the VTR really is a recoil reducing muzzle break because the gases appear to be vented straight up.
It looks to me that if I tried to free float the barrel by removing the contact points that the muzzle brake, or more properly the flip compensator, would cause the barrel to bottom out forcefully in the barrel channel of the stock. So if I wanted to go with a fully free floated barrel I would necessarily have to remove the compensator.
I don't know why you'd need a muzzle brake with a .308 Win. hunting rifle...........it's not a .416 Rigby for goodness sake.
My wife shoots a Remington Model 7 with a 18.5" barrel that weighs 5.5 lbs. with full power reloads.
I thought I'd turn the gun into a quieter, fast pointing, relatively accurate deer rifle. The rifle is ballistically a 20" barrel firearm anyway because the last 2" containing the flip compensator is vented.
I actually like the feel of the factory stock with the wide rubber grip fore-end. The factory stock shoulders naturally for me and I want to keep it.